The very first illustration of Hypsilophodon that I ever laid eyes on depicted it as a very lizard-like animal perched high on a tree branch, an faulty notion that arose again in 1912 and persevered till 1971 when it was lastly debunked—though that didn’t cease youngsters’s dinosaur books from persevering with to painting Hypsilophodon as arboreal till nicely into the Eighties. We all know now that it was a really succesful floor dweller, tailored specifically for working swiftly. Its exact phylogeny is an ongoing topic of debate; some consultants have positioned it outdoors of Ornithopoda altogether, whereas others have recovered Hypsilophodontidae because the sister taxon of Iguanodontia.
Small herbivorous (or presumably omnivorous) dinosaurs obtain far fewer toys than larger and extra spectacular ones, and Hypsilophodon isn’t any exception regardless of the truth that it’s a comparatively well-known English species recognized from a number of specimens. Up till this yr, essentially the most profitable and extensively accessible product was the family of four released by CollectA again in 2012. Now we now have Mattel’s model, a part of their Hazard Pack collection.
This toy measures barely greater than 19 cm lengthy and stands about 7 cm tall on the hip. Its predominant colors are darkish pink and amber with mild orange eyes, a darkish brown higher beak, and uninteresting orange tail feathers. Not precisely what you’d name a reasonably color scheme, but it surely does stand out among the many different small Mattel toys. Disgrace that the decrease beak was not painted brown too.
The articulation here’s what you’d anticipate. The limbs rotate on the shoulders and hips, the bottom of the neck is hinged, and the tail rotates pointlessly. The slide-up scan code is situated on the again and the JW emblem is sculpted on the only of the fitting foot.
Whereas Hypsilophodon has lengthy depicted as a scaly animal, the discoveries of Kulindadromeus and Tianyulong have led to hypothesis that different small herbivorous dinosaurs might have been coated in fuzzy feathers as nicely. As such, this toy is a weird-looking mishmash of pores and skin and plumage. The limbs are largely scaly and wrinkly, however have patches of feathers on the again of the thighs and tufts jutting out from the elbows and the heels. The again is shaggy, however the remainder of the torso is naked. The tail boasts the most important, most spectacular feathers, but the tip and underside completely lack them. And eventually, the again of the neck and the skull are feathery, with a pair of monumental, pointed tufts rising out from the forehead. Mixed with the big eyes and the beak, it seems very owlish or eagle-ish.
Including to the Hypsilophodon’s intimidating look are the big curved claws on its arms and ft and the seen claw scars on its flanks and the fitting thigh. Lay folks might simply mistake this toy for a rugged carnivore.
Peculiar plumage apart, there are fairly just a few obtrusive inaccuracies to be discovered on this toy. The top is outsized and the neck is simply too quick. The arms are too small and the fifth digits must be tiny, sticking straight out to the edges, and with out claws. The ft are large and the primary digits ought to be longer and pointing downward as an alternative of curved again like a theropod’s. And eventually, the tail is simply too quick. However that’s Mattel for you, and likelihood is you gained’t be shopping for this toy for its museum high quality.
General, this Hypsilophodon is a enjoyable, comparatively distinctive, and pleasingly weird-looking addition to the Jurassic World ranks. I prefer it.
Disclaimer: hyperlinks to Ebay and Amazon on the DinoToyBlog are affiliate hyperlinks, so we make a small fee for those who use them. Thanks for supporting us!
Trending Merchandise
